Climate Change Songs
Written for the National Climate March in London on 7 March, 2015
You are welcome to print out, adapt and use these lyrics. Please just acknowledge me as the author and contact me regarding any commercial use.
You can download a 2-page A4 songsheet here and a 4-page leaflet here (copy the two pages of the file back to back and fold).
1. Down By The Roadside
Gonna lock up my motor car,
Down by the roadside, down by the roadside, down by the roadside,
Gonna lock up my motor car,
Down by the roadside,
And drive my car no more.
Refrain:
I ain’t gonna drive my car no more, ain’t gonna drive my car no more,
Drive my car no more. (x2)
v.2 Gonna ride on the bus again...
v.3 Gonna walk to the local shops...
(and make up your own)
(Tune: Down by the Riverside / Ain’t Gonna Study War No More, suggested key C / D / E major.)
Down by the Roadside by Sheena Phillips is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on the song Down By The Riverside.
For permissions beyond the scope of this license, please contact Sheena Phillips by email to sheenaphillips [at] gmail.com
2. Going Green
We’ll be turning down the heating when we come, (x2)
We’ll be turning down the heating, turning down the heating,
Turning down the heating when we come.
We’ll be buying solar panels when we come...
We’ll be insulating houses when we come...
We’ll be printing double-sided when we come...
We’ll be wearing green pyjamas when we come...
We’ll be eating lots of veggies when we come...
We’ll be cutting back on air-miles when we come...
We’ll be cycling and recycling when we come...
(and make up your own)
(Tune: She’ll Be Coming ’Round The Mountain, suggested key F / G major.)
Going Green by Sheena Phillips is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on the song She’ll Be Coming ’Round The Mountain.
For permissions beyond the scope of this license, please contact Sheena Phillips by email to sheenaphillips [at] gmail.com
3. The Place Called Planet Earth
There is a place called Planet Earth,
It is so blue and green,
It’s covered round with seas and skies,
A wonder to be seen.
The long ice ages came and went,
The dinosaurs they died,
And then up came the human race
And spread itself worldwide.
There came an age of industry
When coal and oil were mined,
And we burned them for their energy
And work of every kind.
We drove our cars along the ground,
We flew our planes above,
We felled the trees and killed the birds
And hurt the earth we love.
And now the carbon’s building up,
And now the ocean’s warm,
And now we need to turn around
And cease from doing harm.
So stop the hunt for fossil fuels,
And start on wind and sun,
And learn to treasure Planet Earth —
For it’s our only one.
There is a place called Planet Earth,
It is so blue and green,
It’s covered round with seas and skies,
A wonder to be seen.
(Tune: House of the Rising Sun, suggested key Am / Bm / Cm / Dm to suit.)
There Is A Place Called Planet Earth by Sheena Phillips is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on the song The House of the Rising Sun.
For permissions beyond the scope of this license, please contact Sheena Phillips by email to sheenaphillips [at] gmail.com
4. The Truth Is Marching On
Mine eyes can see the world is getting hotter by degrees,
And it’s bleaching all the coral reefs and stressing out the trees,
And it’s melting all the glaciers and warming up the seas,
The truth is marching on.
Refrain:
CO2 and global warming, (x3)
The truth is marching on.
The hurricanes are blowing even harder than before,
The tsunamis cause disaster when they smash and burst ashore,
And the poor Pacific islanders will have a home no more,
The truth is marching on.
If we want to save the human race and face up to our fate,
We must listen to the scientists before it is too late,
We must talk to politicians, we must stir up a debate,
The truth is marching on.
(Tune: John Brown’s Body / Battle Hymn of the Republic, suggested key A major.)
The Truth Is Marching On by Sheena Phillips is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on the song The Battle Hymn of the Republic.
For permissions beyond the scope of this license, please contact Sheena Phillips by email to sheenaphillips [at] gmail.com